Reviews

Mario Golf (GBC)

By Corey

What do you think of when you hear the word "Golf"? Most of you think of boredom. Now add the word Mario in front of it. Now what do you think of? I am about to tell you what you think!

Graphics: 7

Hmmm, there are ups and downs. The courses are detailed, with bunkers, rough, fairway, and trees. You can easily tell the difference between everything. On the other hand the screen scrolling is bad at times and color isn't all that good. Overall, the graphics are still pretty good.

Game Play: 8

When you start off, you can choose between Mario and Luigi or create a golfer of your own. What is unique about the game is the RPG element. As you play the game, you character gains experience points. When your character levels up, you have to pick what element of your character's game you want to improve. Whether or not you want to keep the attributes balanced is up to you, but it may help you in the long run. This part of the RPG feature is pretty cool.

When you first begin the game, you start in Marion Club. Here people give you little hints and you find out you ultimate goal, you become the Grand Master Champion. In order to do this you must beat the 4 club leaders, who you can meet at Marion, and then your ultimate challenge, Mario (who didn't see that coming?).

Now that you know that, lets talk about the modes of play. You can play in a tournament, match play, stroke, or training modes. Tournament is just trying to get the best score out of many opponents, match play is up against a Club Leader, Stroke is basically just like a practice on the course with pre-determined conditions (wind speed and direction), and training lets you practice any hole under any condition. The first 3 modes let you gain experience, but the last one doesn't.

Actual game play isn't hard. Once you are on the course just pick your club, aim your shot, and the amount of power you hit your ball with. After you get used to doing this, then you can take into account wind speed and direction, top or low spin, and your characters draw or fade. Even though this may sound complicated, it really is easy to get used to. You should be a golf master in a matter of minutes.

Sound: 9

Just like Mario Golf 64, the classic Mario music is here. It sounds really cool. Plus, different music for each course! Wow! Sound effects aren't that bad either, but I did get sick of the noise the ball makes when it moves through the air. Probably just me though.

Lasting Value: 7

Unlike the N64 version, this game doesn't have a big multi-player mode (obviously), so that element of replay is taken away. After playing through the normal game, there isn't much motivation to go back and play. I do go and play through courses every once in a while though.

Bottom Line

This is a good game people. Ignore the fact it says Golf on the box. I was let down a little bit by it after playing Mario Golf 64 though. I really can't say why, I just was. Still, it's a great buy for golf fans and haters.

Final Score: 8 out of 10 (This is not an average)